Johnny Ball has accused the BBC of ageism after his daughter Zoe Ball left Radio 2, claiming that staff are effectively "gone" once they reach 50.
The radio presenter stepped down from the station's Breakfast Show after nearly six years, during which she was believed to be earning £950,000. She later returned in a different slot, presenting a Saturday afternoon show from May 2025, but after seven months she handed the programme over to Emma Willis while continuing to present special shows for the broadcaster.
Johnny Ball's BBC Experience
Johnny Ball, who also worked for the BBC, said that Zoe's age played a part in her exit. He shared: "I did Play School for 17 years, I wrote nearly all of Play Away then I did Think Of A Number and Think Again.
"I loved every minute of it. But what happens when you are 50 at the BBC? Gone! Zoe was 54. Gone! You cannot believe it because we gave so much to the BBC."
Reaction to New Strictly Hosts
Speaking at the Dorchester Literary Event, Johnny Ball gave his verdict on the new presenters, adding: "Josh is not a Bruce Forsyth. He is a lovely bloke and I have met him a couple of times but he is not a domineering comedian as some comedians like Bruce Forsyth were. When I did Strictly, and I only did three shows."
He continued: "On each show I gave Brucie a joke and he used them and he said to me 'I have got a writer here and he does b****r all so thanks very much'. And he said to me 'You should never have gone out' but that's another story."
It was later confirmed that Emma Willis, Josh Widdecombe and Johannes Radebe would be the new hosts of the show.
Zoe Ball on Her Career Plans
Zoe Ball has previously spoken about how missing out on the Strictly role affected her thoughts about work. She said: "I'm so excited. You know how it's been, I lost my mum and I was like, 'I want to take some time to be there for my girl' because I've always worked and never been around.
"And, as I've sort of said on the podcast actually, I've been around and she's a bit like, 'What are you still doing here?' And she's finished her GCSEs now, she's loving her freedom and I think also when the Strictly thing didn't happen as well, I was a bit like, 'Right, what am I going to do?' I mean that was a long shot but having not worked, you suddenly start thinking, 'Okay yeah I do need to go to work.'"
